1 2 3 4 5

Reviewed for FasterLouder

Upper Air is the second album from the North Carolina duo – Bowerbirds. Their first was Hymns For A Dead Horse, a name which was in stark contrast to the beautiful sounds they conjured up on that record. It introduced a band that sat somewhere amid the alt country and folk idioms with a strong focus on their soaring harmonies.
Upper Air doesn’t bring with it any changes of direction, just more of the same sweet melodies, acoustic instrumentation and interesting percussion. Accordion plays a strong part of their sound as it can play both the role of a string section (‘Teeth’) or a wheezing organ (‘Beneath Your Tree’).

The most impressive aspect of the album is the interplay between the music and the vocals. Much of the time the melodies are on different planes, weaving their own independent songs that somehow work together perfectly. The ramshackle drums of ‘Beneath Your Tree’ head off in one direction while guitar notes are picked as an afterthought and the accordion carries on its own merry way. It is intricate stuff that at first glance sounds simple.

Contemporaries like The Dodos and Bon Iver also use interesting composition techniques, as if they are aware they are trading in the traditional genres of folk and country but are compelled to add a new angle, perhaps an indie sensibility, to rhythm and song structure. They keenly explore percussive clatter as a counterpoint to the gentle lilting sounds that float above the music.

There are moments on the album when the voices of Phil Moore and Beth Tacular’s voices almost blend into one as they spell out tales of love won and lost, usually set against a backdrop of oceans, deserts, canyons and thickets. They juxtapose stories of intimate experiences with nature at its most untamed and grand. There is an environmental undercurrent to the album that is unspoken until the final song,  ‘This Day’, when Moore sings of dismembered limbs, chainsaws, gasoline and setting suns.

The personal lyrics that Moore sings are often bittersweet lines like “I don’t want a trophy for all the games I’ve played” on ‘Northern Lights’ and “ I was born a ghost, an apparition, filled with holes and contradiction” on ‘Crooked Lust’. It is as if he is in a confessional, seeking forgiveness for his sins and failings.

Upper Air is no departure musically from their debut but lyrically it has taken a major step forward and cleverly addresses both larger and darkly personal issues. This is personal songwriting that seeks to rise above generic preoccupations and like the album title and the cover art it seeks to elevate the music to a place where the air is pure and flows freely above the detritus of the world and its inhabitants.